Burkina Faso national team and RS Berkane center back Issoufou Dayo addressed a range of topics in an interview with Burkinabé outlet Sidwaya Sport including his pride at winning a second CAF Confederation Cup with Berkane as well as the controversy surrounding the Burkina Faso national team in relation to the dismissal of legend Aristide Bancé as team manager. The 30-year-old secured another trophy on Thursday with Berkane’s penalty kick shootout victory over Wydad AC to mark another success with the Oranges Boys and will compete in the CAF Confederation Cup once again for the 2022-23 season after winning the 2021-22 edition over Orlando Pirates.
After a poor start to the Botola Pro season in league play, Dayo stated that the team made winning the Confederation Cup their goal for the season and praised the organization of Moroccan football as an important reason why Moroccan clubs captured both the Confederation Cup and the CAF Champions League this past season. Dayo’s excellent play in the heart of the Berkane defense led to the former AS Vita Club player being given the award for best foreign player in the Botola Pro.
Regarding the Burkina Faso national team, Dayo stressed that the group is united after the team’s run to fourth place at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year gave way to controversy surrounding the relationship between star playmaker Bertrand Traoré and team manager Aristide Bancé, leading to the latter’s dismissal from his role. Dayo indicated that the story was blown out of proportion due to Bancé’s comments following the controversy, which came due to a recommendation from Bancé to former Burkina Faso manager Kamou Malo to start Traoré on the bench for an AFCON match. With media outlets attempting to claim that Dayo’s comments indicated a poor relationship with Bancé the former Burkina Faso striker took to social media to say there were no ill feelings from his side.